


Conversations with the Vampire

by edy



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Halloween, Jack-o'-lanterns, Nonbinary Character, Other, TOPFL Halloween Challenge, Trans Character, Trick or Treating, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 10:34:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12579792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edy/pseuds/edy
Summary: Every time he sat with Tyler, whether it be at their favorite café or simply on the couch, where he would watch Tyler drift off to sleep, Josh would stare at them and think,Dear God, I love this being so much it terrifies me.





	Conversations with the Vampire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [embroidered](https://archiveofourown.org/users/embroidered/gifts).



> this one's for my pal [marjorie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/embroidered), who wrote a [super cute halloween fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12398499) that inspired me to also write a super cute halloween fic. she likes it when i write super cute fics, so… Here I Am, writing fluff to the best of my ability.
> 
> happy halloween!

They were drinking blood again.

"If you drink too much of that," Josh says, "there's no way I'm gonna listen to you complain about your stomachache. Or carry you home." He's slow, careful, and he runs his fingers along the brim of his drink. The plastic lid cast aside stained with lip imprints of red, he watches Tyler reach across the table and snatch it. It crumbles, folds weakly.

Josh says, "You know I don't really mean that."

Tyler looks at him, their eyes accented with bruises, pupils as dark as the bruises below them. Stretching across the bridge of their nose and along the tips of their cheekbones, the absence of healthy habits, for lack of a better word, takes its toll on them as if they are a walking corpse.

As a response, Tyler smiles and bends the plastic lid in the other direction. The resistance is pathetic. "I think, even if I did drink too much, I would be able to fly away." They lean forward as their speech progresses, the smile on their face teasing now, flirtatious even. The quaint atmosphere of this coffee shop can't force Tyler to turn solemn, can't force Tyler to remember they aren't by themselves. It can't force Tyler to take notice of the rest of human existence nonchalantly gazing at their corner over newspapers and tops of smartphones.

Tyler whispers, "I don't need you."

"Drink, then," Josh dares.

But Tyler doesn't. Tyler smiles more, and they pluck out a sugar packet from the small, black metal basket at the center of their table. They shake it with quick flicks of their wrist and swiftly rip off the top. They hum as they do this, dark, black eyes on Josh. "My mom, when she was alive, reminded me independence is important. If you aren't happy with yourself now—"

"—then you can't possibly be happy with anyone else?" Josh guesses.

Tyler rolls their eyes and sighs. "— _then_  you'll never survive the next hundred millennia." They tip their head back and let the sugar lay on their tongue.

Josh scratches his neck.

"Wanna watch  _Halloweentown_  later?" Tyler licks their teeth. "I promise I'll stay awake this time."

*

Josh tugs the velcro strap on his umbrella and shoves it open. It expands, venomous. Tyler emerges from the safety of the coffee-shop awning and enters the shade, their arm immediately looping through Josh's. When they step, Josh steps, and when they smile, Josh smiles, too.

"Someday," Tyler remarks, "I'll invest in some sunscreen. Do you think that'll work?"

"It works for me," Josh says.

Tyler digs their elbow into Josh's side.

Josh laughs. "But I've always burned easily."

*

At home, Tyler says, "My dad, when he was alive, he used to remind me all things must come to an end, even if we don't want them to end. He said the good things, too, they have to end."

Josh closes the curtains and secures them in place with a piece of felt. If the felt doesn't hold, the window blinds have a sheet of black paper in front of them, allowing the only sunlight to peek through be from the slim cracks on either side of the window where the paper is shy. The curtain is heavy. They have their bases covered.

Tyler drags the sleeves of their sweatshirt over their hands. "My sister told me that, too, and she died the next day during childbirth." With their eyes as old as they are, Josh shouldn't be surprised at the words that fall from their mouth. Modernity suits Tyler well, from the advancements in technology to the appropriate fashion trends. Years ago, when Josh first met Tyler in the pit of a concert for The Killers, Tyler seemed the most comfortable person, from the checkered vans on their feet, the red skinny jeans on their legs, and the tacky Hawaiian shirt hanging off their torso. Tyler was bright then, but they're settled now with neutral tones that allow them to disappear in a crowd. At that concert, Tyler sent their fist into Josh's face and screamed, "I waited  _centuries_  for this!"

Josh sits on the bed next to Tyler and takes hold of their sweater-covered hands. "Do you want to see my family tomorrow?" he asks, as he always does when Tyler mentions their sister. Josh thinks if Tyler were to see his sister and the tot who didn't kill her, then maybe Tyler would feel better. Maybe Tyler wouldn't reminisce about the good ol' days, where rubbing arsenic on the face was commonplace and receiving a paper cut meant infection and a quick death.

"We can go trick-or-treating with them," Josh offers.

There are times where Tyler smiles at him like they read Josh's mind and found a goldmine, but Tyler swears phenomena such as that is purely fairytale and nothing more.

Tyler's smiling now, their fingers scratching at Josh's palms through the heavy fabric of their sweatshirt. "I would like that very much."

*

Tyler says their best discovery of late is the ability to see their reflection in mirrors.

"It didn't used to be like this, you know," they say in the morning, in front of the medicine cabinet as they brush their teeth. "I was never able to see if I had food left over on my face, or if my hair looked stupid. That's why I always shaved it, but then came the stress of wondering if I got all my hair.  _I couldn't tell_. Now I can grow out my hair no problem." Tyler spits in the sink basin. "I can see how I appear to other people, and for the first time in my lifetime, despite all the dastardly side effects of me putting off feeding and going out in the sun, I am okay with how I present myself."

Leaning against the doorjamb, with a change of clothes in toll and waiting for the shower to heat up, Josh says, "You have toothpaste on the corner of your mouth, dear."

And Tyler beams, grabs a hand towel, and says, "I saw that."

*

Tyler never learned to drive.

Tyler sits in the passenger seat, sipping from a thermos and fixing the sunglasses atop their face. By the end of the kids' witching hour, they'll manage to slip the pair into Josh's kangaroo pocket, having foregone pockets themself in order to wear a button-up black shirt. Before the pair of them left their street, Josh said Tyler's outfit was too classy for Halloween night, and Tyler popped their collar and flashed their teeth in a big grin. For a moment, Josh laughed. For a moment, Josh considered driving all the way home. "That's over the top," he told them. "That's dangling bait right under their nose."

And Tyler continued to smile as they swirled the contents of their thermos.

They swirl it throughout the car ride, stopping from time to time to take a drink, a gulp—more gulps than anything. Josh doesn't worry. He drives and parks in front of his parents' house.

"It's better warm," Tyler says absently, one leg crossed over the other. They turn their head to the house—and Josh.

Josh has his elbows on the rolled-down window of his car, his head tilted to rest on the frame of the vehicle. Eyes half-lidded and pressing his lips together, he says, "I can't argue with that."

"Didn't expect you to anyway." Tyler switches legs. They look up at Josh, their sunglasses sliding down their nose. "You're fast."

"I can't argue with that either."

Suddenly and not suddenly at all, Tyler pushes themself up, pecking Josh's lips. It's soft.

Josh pushes Tyler's sunglasses back up their nose and opens the car door for them. Tyler bounces out with thermos and smile and little, sharp fangs. Customary whenever they go out in public, Tyler and Josh link arms and walk at the same pace. Josh's mom cooed at this revelation. She found it adorable how they were so in tune with each other. She mused about true love and soulmates.

She hardly minded Tyler spent more weekends and holidays with the Dun family than their own, though Josh attributes that to her assuming Tyler isn't in touch with their family. Estranged possibly, that's what Josh's relatives guess. Josh supposes death is another form of estrangement.

His mom could never turn down giving a poor, lost soul a hot meal and a safe place to relax. Tonight's meal is popcorn balls. Tyler bites into one with their sharp canines, much to the concern of Josh's mother, who chirps, "Aren't you worried about your fangs popping off?"

Tyler shakes their head, shrugs their shoulders. "The adhesive is good."

She's satisfied with this answer. "Josh," she says, already tutting, "what are  _you_  supposed to be?"

Josh bats Tyler's hand from his mouth, the remnants of popcorn and caramel on their fingers waiting to be licked clean. "Frankenstein's monster or whatever… My hair's green."

His mom eyes him.

Tyler butts in. "Frankenstein's monster had green  _skin_ , Josh. Get with the program! Don't you know your classic horror film monsters?"

With a smirk, his mother spins around to finish sorting the candy for tonight's festivities—one with peanut butter cups and the other without, just in case small hands grab a treat they weren't supposed to grab. "Do you know your classic horror film monsters, Tyler?"

This time, Josh speaks. "I'm pretty sure Tyler was Nosferatu in a past life."

"I told you that in confidence," Tyler hisses, a look of absolute terror on their face.

He snickers and slides in to help his mom, leaving Tyler with sticky fingers they have to lick clean themself.

"I suppose Tyler could look a bit like him, if they shaved their head," Josh's mom comments offhandedly, passing over the bowl of peanut butter cups to Josh so he can set it on the end table by the front door.

When Josh passes Tyler, Tyler shoots Josh a glare and chugs from their thermos.

*

Josh introduced Tyler to his parents during Christmas twelve years ago. They were friends then, and after Tyler insinuated they would be spending the day by themself, Josh jumped at the opportunity and invited them over for Christmas dinner.

Their friendship wasn't new by any means; it had just been that summer where Tyler punched Josh in the face.

Christmas with the Duns was a happy occasion, one where after all food had been eaten and the presents had been unwrapped, Tyler stood next to Josh on the back porch, their breath becoming a single entity with the crisp winter air, and said, "Thank you."

It was two simple words, but it meant the world to Josh to hear Tyler say them. He quietly uttered, "You're welcome," and didn't miss the way Tyler glanced at his lips. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He didn't say anything. Tyler shuffled closer and pressed their cheek to Josh's shoulder. Josh wore a tacky sweater that provided him with more itches than warmth, but Tyler didn't seem to mind.

Tyler wrapped their arms around Josh's left arm, at first in a hug, until their hand slid down, their palm against the back of Josh's hand. It was slow. Tyler's fingers were ice cold as they filled the gaps between Josh's own. Tyler said nothing. They didn't need to say anything. They closed their eyes, and Josh lay his cheek against the top of Tyler's head. Tyler's hair was long, then, and a perfect home for the snowflakes that dared to fall and enhance the moment.

Josh whispered, "'Partner', right? You prefer 'partner'."

"It implies a lifetime bond," Tyler murmured, "and I have waited for what seems like my entire life to feel this way about another human being."

Josh should have kissed Tyler there, but his mom began to call for them to come inside. Josh told himself Boxing Day would be a good day to have their first kiss.

It didn't happen until New Year's. Josh tried to kiss Tyler sooner. Tyler was avoidant. Tyler was scared.

Tyler kissed Josh's cheek before they kissed Josh's mouth. They smelled like licorice. Against Josh's lips, they said, "I need to tell you something. I trust you. This could make or break us."

They were alone, in the hallway of a former friend's house, and Josh's veins buzzed with alcohol and the desire to plant another kiss on Tyler's parted lips. "What? You pretended to like Taco Bell?" Josh laughed at his own joke.

Tyler wasn't laughing. They looked smaller than Josh ever saw them. They couldn't look him in the eye. They said, rushed, "I'm a vampire, okay?"

Laughter erupted from Josh's chest. He ignored the way Tyler blushed and tears pricked at their eyes. "Vampires aren't real," he said.

"I'm real," Tyler mumbled.

" _Prove it._ "

Josh blamed the alcohol for his insensitivity. As soon as the words tumbled out, he wished he could reel them back in with his shaky hands, but Tyler vanished before his very eyes. Briefly, Josh began to wonder if Tyler was indeed real. He couldn't recall ever seeing Tyler turn on their heel and walk down the hall. Their kiss was shared at the end of the hallway; Josh would have seen Tyler sprint. He would have seen them disappear. He would have seen that.

But Tyler was gone.

And something smacked Josh in the side of the head and hooked into the hole of his ear plug. Claws, almost, Josh thought, and he wasted no time in grabbing and holding the perpetrator close to his face to get a better look. It was dark in the hallway. They were alone in the hallway. The other party-goers were outside or in the kitchen playing a game of beer pong. Josh wanted to kiss. Josh wanted Tyler, and Tyler was missing. Tyler wasn't real. Tyler was… Tyler was—it  _must_  be Tyler who currently resided in Josh's palm.

Josh's inebriated brain reasoned this was sane. It reasoned this was real, that Tyler had somehow transformed into the bat with the pointed ears, pig nose, and tongue sticking out in a mocking gesture.

"Dude," Josh said, "no way."

The animal stretched their wings and yawned.

Josh smiled. He laughed, too. "No way."

Tyler took flight, Josh never taking his gaze off them.

They fluttered into a nearby room, and Josh laughed more at Tyler, in human form now, peeking from around the doorway. Gripping the frame of the door, Tyler nudged their head forward, indicating the direction they wanted Josh to look. "My clothes," they said, the blush evident even from the distance and the low lighting. "They're by your feet. Could you…?"

It was dark. Josh was dizzy. Tyler still smelled like licorice. "So, you're a vampire."

"I thought the bat thing made it obvious." Tyler pulled on their jeans and tugged their shirt over their head.

"Can you eat garlic? Can you go inside buildings without permission? Can you sleep in a bed, or does it have to be a coffin?"

"I have a sensitive nose. It's only polite. I sleep where I'm most comfortable."

Josh thought he might be in love. He blamed that on the alcohol, as well. "Can you kiss me again?"

"No biting," Tyler said, and yanked Josh by the front of his shirt. They were in a bedroom. They were in the dark.

A slow grin, Josh took Tyler's head in his hands and agreed, "No biting."

*

Tyler snaps their fingers in front of Josh's face. Those sunglasses on the end of their nose, an eyebrow arched, and looking more rested than Josh has ever seen them, Tyler means to attract Josh's attention. "Earth to Josh—are you still with us?"

"Tell me more about your family."

Tyler shoves their sunglasses into place with the tip of their index finger. "Which one?" They hand Josh their thermos and crouch, holding open their arms to allow a small fairy in a pink tutu to climb into them. She clutches her candy bag in her fist as she winds her arms around Tyler's neck. She laughs, and Tyler smiles.

"Whichever," Josh says.

When it comes to family and not having one to call their own by blood ties alone, Tyler surrounds themself with Josh's relatives whenever possible. For Halloween, like they have done for years, they accompany Josh and his sister Ashley, to take Ashley's daughter trick-or-treating. Ashley's daughter, the sweet girl, immediately attached to Tyler. She held their hand throughout the evening, and even convinced Tyler to let them carry her if her feet started to hurt. This year, their group hit three houses before she tugged on Tyler's sleeve and jumped in her ballerina flats.

And Tyler could never say no.

They walk to the next house either with the lights on or with the residents sitting on their front porch. It isn't too late. They'll get more candy yet.

Along with Josh, Tyler, Ashley, and her daughter, Josh's brother Jordan is among them with his own child, a babe of only ten months, dressed as a bee. Ashley and Jordan are next to their respective spouses, chatting animatedly and paying no mind to Tyler spilling the details of their long-gone family.

"When I lost my sister, I didn't know what to do with myself. She was so important to me. My brothers had all moved away. My father was sick. My mother was depressed. I took care of her newborn—a girl." Tyler stares ahead as they speak, Ashley's daughter on their hip, Josh's hand on the small of their back. "She got sick, too. My father blamed himself. I told him he was ridiculous."

"Was it the plague?" Josh asks, half-joking.

Tyler doesn't miss a beat in their answer. "I put her out of her misery."

"It was kinder," Ashley's daughter says. "Put me down now. There's a house coming up."

Tyler crouches, she leaps, and Tyler regains their original stance. Josh passes over Tyler's thermos and watches them take a drink. He watches their Adam's apple bob. "What came after them?" Josh moves his hand up Tyler's back.

"Centuries of self-isolation passed. And then… around the 1950s, I got married. Her name was Jenna." Tyler screws the lid back on the thermos, frowning. "I thought I was infertile, but she gave birth to a little boy. Nothing was wrong with him, and I thought that was weird. He was susceptible to sunburn, and was anemic, but… he was fine."

Josh moves closer to Tyler. Tyler welcomes him. They mold together, arms wanting to link, but their hands needing to touch. Josh wraps his arm around Tyler's shoulders, Tyler's around Josh's waist. "That's comforting to hear."

Tyler shakes their head. As predicted, they take off their sunglasses and put them into Josh's kangaroo hoodie pocket. The sun is low in the sky. They're safe. "Jenna grew older. She was jealous how I never seemed to age. She would voice these frustrations as she flipped through beauty magazines and soaked up every anti-aging serum the market would put out every other week. I felt bad for making her think this way because she always looked amazing. Yes, she was aging, but aging looked good on her.

"On her thirtieth birthday, I told her what I was. She wasn't mad. She felt betrayed. I understood that, and didn't try to justify my reasons for not telling her. A part of me was scared. I was right to be scared. I'm a monster."

Josh's squeeze is less absent than he intends.

Bowing their head, Tyler shuts their eyes and lets out a slow breath. "She wrote to me on her deathbed. I visited her. My son was there. He knew about me, then. She told him. She had to tell him… She was in so much pain, so I helped her. When it was time for my son to go, I helped him, too. He went before his time."

With his grip on Tyler's shoulder unwavering, Josh pulls them in close to kiss their ear and whisper, "I don't think of you as a monster, Tyler."

Tyler shrugs him away. "I steal from hospitals, Josh. I'm surprised no one has caught me yet." Tyler takes a drink.

Josh kisses Tyler's temple now. "I can't argue with that."

Tyler rolls their eyes, all in good fun. "Can I sleep in your hair tonight?" they ask, tossing a final look and the thermos at Josh before crouching to catch the fairy in the sparkly pink tutu again.

Ahead of them, Ashley laughs and snaps a picture.

"Yes," Josh says. His chest hurts. He blinks and tightens his grip on the thermos. "Of course you can."

*

With blankets and newspaper spread throughout the living room, sucking on lollipops and licking melted chocolate from wrappers, Tyler helps gut pumpkins with Jordan. Josh sits with them, Jordan's baby fighting to stay awake in his arms. He still wears the bee onesie, his fingers curled into fists, ready to show the Sandman who's boss. Josh balances the bottle of breast milk on his knee, too busy rocking as a makeshift mobile to make sure it doesn't tip over onto the polka-dot blanket. Jordan said the bottle shouldn't leak.

Two pumpkins have had their insides scooped clean, ready for carving tomorrow, when the kids are more alert. Jordan and Tyler work on clearing out pumpkins three and four. Sigur Rós plays from Tyler's phone. That's another invention Tyler said they enjoyed very much—both Sigur Rós and the invention of the smartphone.

Jordan glances between Tyler and Josh. "Are you two spending the night here, or coming back early tomorrow?"

Tonight was trick-or-treat night since Halloween falls on Monday this year. They still have the weekend to enjoy the effects of the holiday before Josh's parents prepare for Thanksgiving. Tyler's invitation to the feast is always extended as a joint with Josh's mandatory one. That's what happens when a relationship lasts for more than a decade.

Josh lets Tyler answer, giving himself time to switch the infant to his other arm with no disturbance.

"Coming back tomorrow. Someone's gotta help carve these pumpkins," Tyler remarks, smiling. Their teeth are still sharp.

Josh smiles, and Jordan smiles. He says, "I'm sorry in advance if this is just  _too nosy_ , but I know Mom is wondering this, too, and won't stop talking about it with us—but, like, have you guys ever thought about actually getting… y'know, married?"

Tyler doesn't raise their head. They continue scooping out pumpkin seeds.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Josh stares at his brother and actually believes he might catch fire. "We already sorta… pledged our commitment to each other."

As expected, Jordan quickly scans for rings.

Tyler says, "In lieu of rings, I broke Josh's finger."

Before Jordan can make any horrified assumptions, Josh saves it with, "We were in bed—"

"I don't need to hear it." Jordan laughs, and means it.

Josh returns to rocking the baby in his arms.

"Mom will be happy to hear that, even if she doesn't get to see, y'know…  _an actual ceremony_. She keeps talking about how you two need to hurry up 'cause you're not getting any younger"—he laughs again—"except, like, she  _really_  wants to know your skincare routine."

"Mine or Josh's?" Tyler sticks their hands inside the pumpkin and pulls out the remaining seeds.

Jordan hesitates. "Both, actually."

Neither Tyler nor Josh replies. The topic at hand lulls. Soon, Jordan is setting his empty pumpkin aside and reaching across the threshold to lift his child from Josh's arms, along with the bottle, citing, "He needs his crib."

Once Josh and Tyler are left to their own devices, and no doubt with the task of tidying up, Josh wrings his hands together and says, "I'm sorry I can't give you kids."

"We can adopt," Tyler reasons.

Josh closes his eyes.

Tyler stretches out their leg and pokes Josh's knee with their toes. They curl them, hidden away in red socks. "As much as I love children, raising them is hard business. I know I have the time to completely devote myself to another one, but… I don't really want to do that. I'm satisfied with living the rest of my days with you."

"And I'm satisfied with living the rest of my days with you sleeping in my hair."

Tyler beams. "We'll take turns."

*

As it always is, Walmart is open. Tyler thinks the department store is also one of the greatest achievements of the recent world. They pair this with refrigerators and flu vaccines—and then, they talk of their reflection again.

They're gazing at the sun visor mirror as Josh turns into a parking spot near the entrance. They touch their face and run their fingers through their hair and say, "I was meant to look this way forever."

Josh is already laughing. "If you shave your head again, I'll shave mine with you. We can do it in the summer."

He takes the quirk in Tyler's lips as an affirmative.

"C'mon," Josh says, pushing open the car door, "let's see what sunscreen they still have available."

And as always, Tyler and Josh link arms and continue on their way.

*

They're drinking blood and eating tacos, the remnants of which can still be found in Tyler's mouth. Josh's kiss isn't open or messy, just a quick smooch, but Tyler has a bite of food in their mouth and the manners to always reciprocate a kiss from their partner.

Suddenly, Josh asks, "Can vampires die from choking?"

Tyler licks their lips and tilts their head against the wooden board of their bed. They slide their hand to cup the side of Josh's neck, surveying him, not laughing. The question is preposterous. Vampires can't die from natural means.

"Stabbed through the heart, decapitation… set on fire—those are the things that can kill us. Anything else is an inconvenience." Tyler's fingers curl around the base of Josh's skull, guiding him forward. With foreheads pressed together, Tyler sighs, "Also, starvation. We need to drink blood in order to survive. Animal blood satisfies the need, but after a while… you feel malnourished. Vampires were once human, and we still need those nutrients to live."

Josh pushes himself up and swings his legs across Tyler's lap.

Tyler's free hand squeezes his knee. In this transfer, Tyler glances at the television. They turn back to Josh, and Josh stares at the television now. "I was there when they filmed this," Tyler says, nodding their head at the opening credits of  _Hocus Pocus_. "I watched them film the scene where the Sanderson sisters discovered roads for the first time."

"If you ruined the shot, they wouldn't even need to edit you out."

A smile plays on their face. Tyler curls their fingers again to massage the side of Josh's neck, right along the curve where neck joins shoulder. They say not a word, just leans in to reconnect lips. Josh wastes little time in setting his hands on Tyler, this time on their waist, up their shirt. The temperature difference is nonexistent. Josh leans forward, and Tyler drops both hands to cradle Josh's bottom as they both attempt to balance themselves and save whoever decides to tip forward first.

Luckily, it's neither.

Tyler kisses Josh's cheek. "Can I finish my taco now?" they whisper into his pores.

Silently, Josh obliges. He settles down next to Tyler, knees bent, two pillows molding to his back. Tyler chews a mouthful of lettuce, and Josh drinks.

When they kiss before bed, Josh tastes blood and cheese, and he laughs as he watches Tyler shed their clothing in the en-suite bathroom and shift into the creature with fluffy brown fur and dark eyes and a face that looks too cute to be frightening.

Instead of landing in Josh's hair like they usually do, they grip at the bed sheets and crawl toward Josh. Josh has to keep himself from laughing, but it comes out anyway. By the time Tyler climbs onto his shirt, Josh is squirming from how much it tickles to have small claws poke their way up his arm.

Tyler bumps their head into Josh's temple. Josh thinks it's a don't-laugh-at-me gesture, one that Josh is ready to apologize for, but Tyler is immobile, hanging from Josh's green hair with their eyes closed and softly breathing.

Josh covers Tyler with his hand and uses his thumb to stroke the fur along Tyler's spine.

The noises that leave Tyler's mouth can only be read as content.

Josh pulls the blankets over him and leaves the TV on. Sometime in the night, Tyler crawls the rest of the way to Josh's hair and makes their nest.

But by morning, they're on the pillow by Josh's head, curled into a ball and gazing at him. Josh gives their back another stroke to their delight.

"Do you want to eat some strawberries?" Josh asks.

Tyler takes flight as a response. Josh finds them in the kitchen, perched on the handle of the cabinet home to the cups made specifically for this occasion.

Josh lets Tyler ride on his shoulder as he makes his rounds around the kitchen, cutting up strawberries, frying eggs, and slathering jam on toast.

They drink blood, as they always do.

The sun isn't harsh at all. Josh draws back the curtains and opens the windows. Music plays from the wind chimes hanging from the roofing overtop their back porch. His mom bought the wind chimes for them as a housewarming gift. Josh can see them lasting as long as time itself.

"Let's say… hypothetically," Josh starts, sitting across from Tyler as they hold onto the brim of the fruit cup, nose burrowed into a strawberry. At Josh's voice, Tyler raises their head to watch. It's hilarious. Josh would laugh if he weren't used to a sight like this.

"Since, uh… since all good things must also come to an end, when that day comes—"

Tyler narrows their eyes.

Josh laughs and shakes his head. "Sorry. I was just… thinking. If we broke up, I don't know where you would go. I love Ohio and—"

Tyler pushes themself up the side of the cup, sitting on the ceramic. Their eyes are still narrowed.

" _You_  love Ohio," Josh realizes. He shakes his head again. "Columbus, specifically, right? Maybe I could go to… I always liked Portland."

Bending down, Tyler pokes at one of the strawberries, a small one, and looks as if they were trying to lift it to toss at Josh. Josh quickly says, "Sorry," to prevent Tyler from doing so. Tyler stops in their tracks, blinking, head tilting to the side. "I'm sorry," Josh repeats. "I'm trying to be positive."

Tyler continues poking at a strawberry.

Josh reaches across the table, but Tyler burrows deeper into a strawberry. They're listening, though, always listening. "I just don't know what to tell my parents." Josh picks apart his toast. "They're going to ask. I'm scared and… God, Tyler, I love you, like… a whole lot."

If bats were able to smile, Josh thinks they would look like Tyler when they pop up from their fruit pile with strawberry juice on their face.

*

After rubbing sunscreen on all the skin potentially exposed to the sun, Tyler and Josh fulfill their promise to finish carving the pumpkins.

Josh's dad is the one in the kitchen now, letting the fragrance of snickerdoodle cookies flow through the small window above the sink. Josh sits with his niece on his lap as they occupy a space on the back porch. With more newspaper and more blankets, Tyler isn't scared to stain the hardwood beneath them.

Tyler is kept from the sun, but they flip their hood over their head and keep their sleeves hanging by their wrists. They allow Ashley's daughter to stab the pumpkin with a fork to imprint her design before Tyler carves it themself with a knife. Tyler watches her, smiling with all their teeth. It's odd to see their teeth dull when just yesterday they were kept sharp for far longer than Josh has ever seen them. He thinks, even after all this time, Tyler gets tempted sometimes. Yesterday could have been a bad day. Josh specifically doesn't know what started the theory of children having a lure over monsters who go bump in the night. Maybe it's as simple as how old Tyler really is—but even that, Josh knows, doesn't describe every facet of Tyler. They might be up there in years, but the way they think is far from the attitude of their home century.

Josh also knows Tyler's fangs are not typical of what's seen in Hollywood movies. They are not out all the time—only when exposed to blood. Yesterday could have been a bad day. Yesterday  _was_  a bad day. Tyler tried their best, and they still felt exhausted this morning. They almost didn't want to shift into their human form again. They did, though. They did, and Josh smiled at them, and Tyler weakly smiled back.

"Are you giving that one fangs?" Tyler asks, leaning forward to inspect the pumpkin Josh's niece is currently stabbing. Josh rests his chin on the top of her head, trying to stop himself from laughing at Tyler's face.

"Is that a vampire pumpkin?"

"Maybe," she says, and continues stabbing.

They don't question further. They glance at Josh, but Josh shakes his head, much to their dismay.

"Ty," she says, then, pushing her pumpkin toward Tyler for them to begin carving. "How did you become a vampire?"

Josh truly does laugh this time, and with another shake of his head, Josh answers for Tyler. "Honey, Tyler isn't—"

But Tyler stops him because it's plain to see from the somber expression molded into their eyes and the corners of their mouth that this little girl, somewhere down the line, will be on her deathbed and in pain, and someone will need to guide her through the misery. This all can be said of Josh's family as a whole. Josh wonders why Tyler weaves themself into families, knowing they will be the last member standing. It doesn't get easier. It shouldn't get easier, if Tyler wants to keep that last strap of humanity left inside them.

Josh loves his family. His family is as much Tyler's family as it is his. Josh loves them, and Tyler loves Josh.

Tyler picks up the knife from the obituaries and slides the pumpkin over to rest between their knees. "Let's say… I was a vampire, and you asked me how I turned. Would you like to know the full story, or would you like to know the amended story for children?"

She seems delighted to have the choice. " _The whole thing_."

Josh hugs her around the middle. "How 'bout I tell it? And then… if I get anything wrong, Tyler can jump in and correct me."

She claps her hands together. "How will you know it? Did Ty tell you? Are you a vampire, too?"

Planting a kiss on the top of her head, Josh gathers his thoughts to the best of his ability when he has an eager little girl in his lap. She is as patient as a kid can be right now. When she begins to squirm, Josh squeezes her. She laughs. She says, " _Tell me_."

"It hurts," Josh says, because it's the first coherent sentence that he manages to form. "The pain… ranges from person to person. Sometimes it feels like a pinch, and then sometimes it's a pinch and a burn. Point is that it hurts. It hurts, and it doesn't matter if the vampire who bit you meant it in a malicious way. They could… they could be the nicest person in the world, but that doesn't stop the pain that comes with it."

She says, "Is it sometimes an accident?"

Tyler says, "Yes," suddenly.

"Is that what happened with you?"

"No." Tyler frowns a little. "It wasn't an accident at all."

And that's it. They open their mouth to say something else, but nothing comes out. Nothing can come out.

Ashley's daughter, the smart girl, she goes, "I think I'm going to make my next pumpkin Pikachu."

And that perks Tyler right up.

*

Snickerdoodle crumbs dusting their fingertips and the thighs of their pants, they drink blood from the thermos again. The radio chimes with an upbeat song about outrunning a gun. For a moment, Josh's anxieties have all fled to the Netherlands. He wills himself to believe this wholeheartedly.

Tyler sits in the passenger seat with half a cookie in their mouth and reaches for their thermos.

Josh tightens his grip on the steering wheel. "Did I say something bad earlier? Did I overstep a line somewhere?"

Washing down what's left in their mouth before responding, Tyler shakes their head and dives in for another cookie. "No, you were… you were right on the line. You d-did good." Tyler won't look at him. Tyler drops the cookie into the container with the others, rocking, and says, "This is dumb. I should be able to talk about it now. I should have been able to even jokingly tell her how there are good ways and bad ways to turn into a vampire, and unfortunately, my way was a bad way."

"She wouldn't have complained you didn't give the full story," Josh says, taking the thermos from Tyler and stopping them from guzzling the rest of it down before they even get to their street.

Tyler gives it away willingly. They look out the car window. "Yeah."

"What would you have told her, if you were able to tell her?"

Tyler smiles. "I would first start with asking how old she thinks I am, and she'll say, 'Really old,' and then I'll say, 'And yet, I don't look a day over twenty-seven.'"

The radio switches to an ad for their local grocery store.

Tyler's smile never falters as they watch a woman walk her dog along the sidewalk. "And then, I'll ask, 'How old is Josh, sweetie? Do you know how old your uncle is…?'"

"Do  _you_  know how old her uncle is?" asks Josh, the thermos in the cup holder and now between his thighs. He untwists the lid, and he twists the lid, fidgeting. "I'm not talking about Jordan."

Rocking again, this time from side to side in thought, Tyler's head cocks to the window, and they screw up their face. Eyebrow up, lips spreading to smile more, Tyler reeks of confidence. "You turned thirty-four this past summer."

And Tyler still smiles. And Tyler says, "And yet, you don't look a day over twenty-seven."

Adele announces her presence with a piano, the blues, and the arrival of their quaint house with the garden gnomes in the flowerbed and the birdhouse in the birch tree. Tyler smashes their palm into the radio's power button. Josh can't bring himself to leave the car.

"I'm scared, Tyler. I—no, it's not really fright. It's something else."

"Worry?" Tyler offers. They lift their thermos from Josh's legs and snap the lid onto the cookie container.

"Maybe it's that. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."

"You don't have to worry. I'll be here with you until the end of my days."

Josh smiles. It feels natural. "And I'll be here with you until the end of my days."

"Until, you know, you get bored and go to Portland," Tyler teases. They set their hand on the car door. "We could go to Rome, to London, to fucking Hobbiton—"

"And only have our relationship be fueled on the adrenaline of travel and nothing substantial anymore? We don't have to go anywhere. I'm perfectly happy with doing the mundane with you for the years to come."

"Until, you know," Tyler starts, and never finishes.

Josh knows the end of that sentence. "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. My parents, they'll—"

"—only see you for what you are, and that's a fantastic son."

Neither of them moves.

" _You know_ ," Josh says, a laugh sliding out, "when I told my mom you were the anonymous musician Twenty One Blood Clots, she looked at me like I was a lunatic. She said they've been around for years, and some of their early sheet music is on display in museums in—"

"Rome," Tyler repeats, more morose now. "Could we go sometime…?"

Josh stretches his arm across the central console and places his hand on top of Tyler's. He feels Tyler curl their fingers into a fist.

"We can do that… but only if—"

Tyler raises their head.

"—you ditch those artificial drums in your new songs for some  _actual drums_."

Slipping their hand out from under Josh's, Tyler places both hands to their face and shakes with laughter. "I, I, I thought you were going to bribe me with sex."

Josh laughs, too. "I can. Do you want me to take back—?"

"No." Tyler kisses Josh on the cheek. "I want you. I need you, in more ways than one."

A hand to the side of Tyler's face, Josh grins into another kiss. "You can have me."

" _Race me to the bedroom_."

"Tyler, no, wait—!"

But Tyler ends up shedding their skin and flying through the open window—to only have to hang from the front door handle because Josh has the keys and all the time in the world to unlock the door.

Tyler's clothes over his shoulder, the cookies under an arm, and the thermos in hand, Josh jingles his keys in front of Tyler's pinched face and coos, "Couldn't find a window or a hole in the roof?"

Tyler opens their mouth and bears their fangs.

Josh strokes along Tyler's back. "I love you, too."

*

For when he turned twenty-seven, Josh said he only wanted one thing, and when he told Tyler his request, Tyler wasn't upset. Tyler just sat there, across from Josh in the café they frequent, and they said, "Thank you for giving me some time to think this through," because Josh was twenty-four when he brought Tyler his request. They had time.

Weeks later, Tyler began to say they wanted Josh to have a special twenty-seventh birthday. They often said this. When Josh asked why, always with a smile on his face, Tyler shook their head and smiled, and they leaned in, buried their face in Josh's neck, and breathed. They breathed, and they breathed, and Josh wrapped his arms around them, held them in place, and allowed them to breathe.

So, when Josh turned twenty-seven, he expected something special to happen.

And Tyler hovered above him in bed, and Josh arched his back, and Tyler grabbed his hand and sunk their teeth into the curve of Josh's neck.

Their sex was always gentle. Even when the pain ripped through Josh's body and sent him into near-convulsions, Tyler guided him through it to make sure Josh's mind wasn't focused on the pain. But it hurt; he wasn't lying when he told his niece it hurt—a pinch and a little burn, it spread to all parts of his body. Not even the orgasm Tyler desperately tried to milk out of him could help him feel better.

Eventually the shaking turned to full-blown seizures, but Tyler was strong enough to hold him together. Josh remembers hearing Tyler's teeth clenching shut from how much force they exerted to keep him together. Josh felt fragile, like he was going to fall apart at any moment. And the pain, the heat, it brings tears to Josh's eyes just thinking about it now, as Tyler's hips rock into his backside, as Tyler's face hides in his neck.

Their sex is gentle. It will always be this way. Tyler kisses the side of Josh's face and the tear tracks on Josh's cheeks, and Josh cradles the side of Tyler's head and fights to stifle the noisy sobs by neglecting to inhale oxygen.

In that moment, the pain was never something that forced Josh to scream out his regrets because he never regretted his decision to go through with becoming one with Tyler. Every time he sat with Tyler, whether it be at their favorite café or simply on the couch, where he would watch Tyler drift off to sleep, Josh would stare at them and think,  _Dear God, I love this being so much it terrifies me._

Josh thinks this now as Tyler flips him onto his stomach and lies on top of him. He thinks this as Tyler slides into him again and goes at a faster pace than what most would consider "gentle". But this is gentle to them, even when days passed and Josh could equate the pain in his neck to a gunshot wound.

"Does it ever heal? Will it ever feel… better?"

They were in bed, naked, sticky. Tyler tipped the thermos in his direction and rose their eyebrow. "It will," they said, "but it does take a while. Flu-like symptoms, almost, and then you'll feel on top of the world."

Josh took the thermos.

Tyler said, "Can I try something? With your hand?"

Josh didn't say anything. He gave his hand to Tyler, his left hand, and Tyler snapped his ring finger back before his very eyes.

It didn't hurt, more like popping a joint than breaking a bone, even if that's what Tyler had done. It was more of a nuisance than anything.

Josh stared at his hand, with his ring finger pointed at a perfect ninety-degree angle with the rest of his hand, and he whispered, "How will I wear gloves now?"

Tyler fixed it for him. A thin red line remained, meant to turn white as the minutes that passed grew to days.

"If you would rather a ring…" Tyler didn't finish.

Josh said, "No, I like this better."

Tyler leans over Josh's shoulder and grabs his hand, yanking it across the wrinkled bed sheets to plant a kiss on that thin white line. Again, they ask, between the panting and sighing, "If you would rather a ring…"

And Josh, still in awe this creature is completely enamored with him, and between his own moaning and the tears in his eyes, replies, "No, don't you dare."

*

They were drinking blood again.

Setting down two coffee cups on their respective sides, Tyler slumps into the seat across from him, groaning and reaching into the inside pocket of their coat. Josh says, "You're okay."

Tyler tips the blood into their cup and passes over the flask for Josh to do the same. This occurs swiftly, no strangers spotting them. When Josh returns the flask to Tyler, he takes a drink and promptly removes the plastic lid. The years of drinking spiked coffee hasn't made it easier for him not to make a mess. At least the lip imprints he leaves behind resemble lipstick. He considers this a good thing.

After a drink from their own brew, Tyler takes Josh's lid to fold and bend into any shape they desire. They keep their eyes to Josh. They look better than the last time they sat at this table and shared a drink.

Tyler wiggles their eyebrows. "Wanna make another bet? Wanna see how long we can go without feeding or sleeping or—?"

"You lost that bet last time," Josh says, laughing, "and it was just a few days ago, remember? Why would you put yourself through that again?"

"You hate me," Tyler realizes.

"I  _love_  you, and I love seeing you looking more… alive."

A hand to their mouth, closing their eyes tightly, Tyler whimpers. " _Dude_." The gesture is met with silence, with Josh gazing at Tyler and trying to wonder how he got so lucky—how Tyler was so strong to have held on to the hope that they would eventually find someone they trusted, loved, and cherished as much as they did Josh. Josh looks upon Tyler, upon them tipping more than enough sugar packets into their beverage and giving Josh a mocking look as they do so.

Josh can only smile. He can only lean forward and spread the glob of sunscreen more evenly on their nose and say, "Happy Halloween, Tyler."

At first, Tyler is sweet. They say, "Happy Halloween, Josh." And then, "We've never tried to have sex while we were bats."

A man straightens his newspaper and clears his throat.

With wide eyes, Josh hisses, " _Tyler_."

Tyler cackles and claps their hands together, their feet lifting off the tile flooring as they tremble with laughter. "T'is the season."

"Okay," Josh says, rolling his eyes. "I can't argue with that."

**Author's Note:**

> [tea](http://overlyawestruckdane.tumblr.com/) drew [tyler](http://edyluewho.tumblr.com/post/167669071934)!!!


End file.
